LatinNews Daily - 02 February 2026

*Panama’s maritime authority (AMP) has announced that APM Terminals, a Netherlands-based subsidiary of Danish shipping company Maersk, will temporarily serve as administrator of the ports of Cristóbal and Balboa on the Panama Canal. This follows the Panamanian supreme court (CSJ)’s ruling on 29 January against a contract granted to Panama Ports Company (PPC), a subsidiary of Hong Kong-headquartered CK Hutchison Holdings, for the ownership of the ports. According to an AMP press release, following the CSJ ruling, the state “activated a technical operational transition plan aimed at ensuring the continuity of port activities” at the two ports so that “the essential services that support the global logistics chain will continue to operate without disruption”, with AMP Terminals to act as “a temporary administrator during a transition period”. The statement said AMP reiterates President José Raúl Mulino’s intention to “move forward with an orderly and coordinated transition alongside Panama Ports Company” adding that it trusts “in its constructive cooperation throughout this phase, for the benefit of stability across the port system”. The concession has been at the centre of tensions between Panama and the US amid the latter’s efforts to reduce Chinese influence over the Panama Canal. The CSJ’s ruling has been rejected by PPC, while the spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry Guo Jiakun said in a press conference on 30 January that “China will take all measures necessary to firmly protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies”. It was welcomed however by the US Department of State which said in a statement, also signed by Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Paraguay, that it “respect[s] the ruling as residing squarely within the purview of Panama’s independent judicial system” and “support[s] the impartial application of the law as the best way to attract world-class investments”.

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